I'm Breaking Us To Protect You
by Crymeariver1995
Summary: Protecting the one you love isn't easy. Original RSE! Timeline- NOT ORAS!
1. Broken

**I'm Breaking Us to Protect You.**

_**Rated T**_

_Hi everyone! I'm new here, so this is my very first story! Well here it is and I hope you enjoy! __ This story is dedicated to one of my inspirations to this story: Shellys-apprentice on tumblr!_

Just to let you guys know, this Shelly and Tabitha is from the _Original Ruby and Sapphire. This means before the remakes (the Shelly and Tabitha with Red and Purple hair). Their personalities are based of of the Pokémon anime during the Hoenn Arc as well. I just wanted to clear up any confusion. :)_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon! If I did my favorite pairings would have gotten together already!**_

* * *

"...Why are you doing this?"

Unshed tears shone through Shelly's eyes as she watched Tabitha walk away from her.

Tabitha was careful not to show his expression under his hood as he walked away from the one person that made life worth living. His posture stiff and cold - concealing the true torment he was feeling.

"Didn't you see I was playing you the whole time? I only wanted you to open up to get more information on Team Aqua. How stupid can you be? Trust me, things are better this way."

The atmosphere was so strained and silent Tabitha could hear her breathing hard and her heart being ripped into uneven fragments.

Shelly's tears finally escaped as she dropped to her knees, slammed her fists to the ground, and bellowed a wail that sounded hollow and inhuman.

"...YOU..**.BASTARD**...I... YOU WERE **EVERYTHING** TO ME! WE FOUGHT TOGETHER, SAVED EACH OTHER'S ASSES COUNTLESS TIMES, AND WERE EQUALS AND WERE GOING TO RUN AWAY TOGETHER TO LIVE BRIGHTER LIVES! **...WHY...WHY?" **

Slowly turning to face her, he made sure his hood covered his eyes- which showed his true expression of _agony_. With his insides churning and his heart shattering apart, it took Tabitha everything in his will power not to run back to her, hold her tightly, kiss her multiple times, and tell her _everything_. Damn it, she looked beautiful, but would look magnificent if she was _**smiling**_.

_**Tabitha wanted to tell her how much he loved her.**_

"..I'm very sorry Team Aqua leader Shelly, but you meant nothing to me."

Swiftly turning around and stiffly walking away, Tabitha didn't see the light in Shelly's eyes die out and the pure agony that replaced it. He did however; hear her screaming and weeping in agony.

Shelly felt like she was being _incinerated_ in a thousand hells, but little did she know that Tabitha was feeling the same.

"Goodbye, Team Aqua Leader Shelly."

_**This is for the best, I won't let him hurt you...I love you so much...**_

* * *

_***Three days, 9 hours, 30 minutes, and 42 seconds earlier***_

_"Field Commander Tabitha, I need to speak with you on an...urgent matter."_

_"Yes Sir?"_

_As Tabitha stood in front of Maxie, he felt a shiver down his spine as he saw the exasperated look that was in the Magma Leader's Eyes. _

With a low voice, Maxie hissed, "_I don't know what game your playing Tabitha, but as you should know, any relationship with any Team Aqua member, including The New Team Aqua Leader, is FORBIDDEN-"_

_Tabitha's breath hitched. "I...don't know what you're talking about sir."_

_" -_**_SILENCE_**_. I saw you kissing and talking with her down near the beach during the last mission four days ago. Now, let me get one thing clear to you-"_

_Tabitha felt his stomach drop at his leader's next words._

_"- If you do not get rid of that bitch in the next couple of days, I will _**_end _**_her myself, I will make sure she burns in the pits of the volcano where Groudon rests. And I will make you and everyone watch- to set you as an example and to teach her a lesson. Hmm, killing two birds with one stone- yes?"_

_There was a manic glint in Maxie's eyes as the words left his mouth. For the first time, Tabitha felt pure, unadulterated hatred for his leader._

_"..As if you could catch her sir, she won't be tricked by the likes of you. She is one of the most cunning and clever people we have known through all these years." Tabitha spat back, his eyes hardening in rage._

_Maxie smirked as he held Tabitha's gaze. "Why Field Commander, don't you remember when I threw Team Aqua's previous leader, Archie into the inferno? I had caught the poor fool with my own genius and cunning. Why, what difference does it make with the New Team Aqua Leader Shelly? It's all_ _the same to me." _

_Tabitha's eyes widened in shock. So that's how Archie died? He and the rest of the world thought that the poor fool died from an explosion on his private submarine at sea. But something at the back of his mind told him that didn't add up. "..How did you-"_

"-That is none of your concern, why do you question your leader? I did the whole world a favor when I burned him, now Team Magma has nothing to worry about." Maxie chuckled, **insanity** clearing **burning** in his eyes.

"_Now Tabitha, you have been one of my most trusted Commanders in all of my years- so I will give you a gift."_

_Tabitha's eyes narrowed with Maxie's next words._

_"To thank you for your loyalty, I will allow you four days to cut ties with The Aqua Leader Shelly, when you do, I will promise to not bring harm to her for as long as she lives,_**_HOWEVER,_**_ if you don't _**_I will carry out my threat._**_ Understand?" _

_Tabitha spoke his next words clear, with hatred evident in his eyes._

_"..I understand sir."_

_As Maxie walked away pleased with his subordinate's answer, little did he know that Tabitha was planning his leader's demise._

_Shelly, I love you so much. I'm sorry for what I'm going to do to you, but I _**_MUST _**_protect you. _

_**Unitl Maxie is gone from the world, wait for me.**_

* * *

-Well there you have it! I hope it was to your liking. When I'm not busy with university I will write more stories on these two! Thank you all!

Please comment if you would like me to continue this story!

-K.A


	2. Instability

**I'M Breaking Us to Protect You**

**Chapter 2: Instability**

_**Hello everyone! Due to popular demand, I will be continuing this story! I thank you all so much for waiting! By the way, I know that the first chapter was very angst, but please bear with me! __ I promise it will get better…soon lol._

Rated T for swearing and implications of drinking.

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon! If I did my favorite pairings would have gotten together already!**_

* * *

Team Aqua leader Shelly was_** exasperated**_.

It has officially been one month since her rise to power- and it has been one disaster after another. Some members of team Aqua began feeling that she wasn't capable of being a great leader like their previous leader Archie. This in turn, lead to mutinies breaking out within the organization and some members cut ties with the organization altogether. Finding the deserters had been a strenuous task- the search parties had been so disorganized and unprepared that no one knew even the first place to investigate. What was even worse was that the people who were found became traitors and joined with Team Magma- meaning that they could have exchanged information about Team Aqua for their own personal safety and power.

Then her second in command, Team Aqua admin Matt went missing a couple weeks ago. Shelly couldn't help but feel extremely dejected and acrid over this- the redhead had known Matt over the years and he was like a big brother to her. Matt was the one who had recruited her into Team Aqua when she was younger and had raised her throughout the years. He was the one who would listen to her problems and gave her advice. The reason why she was so angry about him leaving was because he didn't even leave a letter of why he left. Matt had just one day disappeared from her life without a word. The redhead felt completely lost without his guidance.

The whole organization was in shambles. With Matt and Archie gone, Shelly _never_ led such a gigantic criminal organization _alone_ before- and she was doing a terrible job at handling the current problems. It was a ghost of its former glory- the proud Team Aqua had fallen to _ruin_. And many people blamed her for it, including herself. As more people deserted from Team Aqua, the fewer members there were to carry out their missions. It was even problematic to motivate those who decided to stay- it was arduous for all of them for the fact that Archie was no longer with them. _All their passion and motivation to carry out their missions died along with him._

**_And then…there was HIM._**

Shelly felt that her whole world had completely _disintegrated_ when Tabitha left. He was her rock, the very thing that kept her sanity stable in the world. She had loved and trusted him so much and now he was gone. What was left of her heart had been violently shredded apart.

**_His betrayal had crushed her the most._**

**_And she had felt stupid for letting him see inside her heart._**

Right after the whole crisis with her organization and Tabitha, Shelly resorted to drinking to cope with her disordered feelings and stress. The redhead began to have episodes of uncontrollable sobbing when alone. She felt too prideful to ask for help from anyone else as she felt like no one could be trusted.

However, the worst thing that she felt that was happening to her was the reoccurring dreams. Nightly, she would be plagued with dreams of Tabitha, of all their blissful moments spent together. The redhead dreamt of forgotten promises towards a better life, the surprising softness of his hands and lips, the gentle, amused teasing look in his eyes. She dreamt of his deep, hearty laughter, and his sarcastic, arrogant demeanor. Imperatively, she dreamt of her favorite moments in their private beach- where they first started meeting each other in secret.

At first, it was an accident- they had run into each other alone on a mission, and they both decided that on that very beach they would finally see who was dominant in their rivalry. Battle after battle, they couldn't seem to beat each other- they were equally matched. Both began to grow tired of fighting, and in place of hatred developed a mutual respect for one another's vital spirit. It had been Tabitha's easy going personality that had opened her up.

One thing had led to another, and Shelly soon found herself becoming friends with her enemy. One meeting a week eventually became an everyday secret occurrence. During those days they began to talk more and more about their private lives and learned that they had more in common than they thought. On that very beach, they had finally put aside their pride and differences. They never talked about their organizations but their dreams, passion, and wishes for a better life. Many months later, Shelly had realized that she fell in love with Tabitha. Then much later on that fateful, beautiful, starry evening, they had spilled their hearts out to each other and made plans for running away together to start a better life. Both couldn't have been more jubilant in their entire lives.

**_On that beautiful beach, everything had seemed so fucking perfect- Where did it all go?_**

Shelly, now in her private chambers and out of sight of the public eye, began to tremble in misery, embarrassment, and resentment. As she slid onto her knees in the middle of her room, desperately holding back a sob, the redhead had one simple thought:

**_She had never felt this alone._**

* * *

_Hi guys! Sorry for the long wait! . _

_Thank you for all of those who left comments on this story, it really motivated me to work on this! Please leave a review and be respectful! Don't just leave things on what you don't like- also give constructive criticism on how I can improve! :) Also, I'm currently on spring break, so you all will be seeing more of me! :) Look out for my Fire Emblem: Awakening story when I get around to writing it sometime this week! XD _

_With love,_

_-KA_


	3. In Upmost Secrecy

**I'm Breaking Us to Protect You**

**Chapter 3: In Upmost Secrecy**

**Rated T for swearing and violence**

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon! If I did my favorite pairings would have gotten together already!**_

* * *

_ Location: Route ?; Somewhere in between Pacifidlog Town and Slateport City. _

_Time: 0300 Hours._

To say that Tabitha was enervated would be an _understatement. _The dark circles and bags under his eyes would support that claim.

It has been almost four months since his confrontation with Maxie.

He was juggling his divided time between a myriad of things for these past months:

While performing his role in being Field Commander for Team Magma, he had been doing on the side research in predicting on what Maxie would do next.

Tabitha had also been gathering information from multitudes of secret sources in order to see and hear what sorts of crazy conquests that the Magma leader would come up with. Tabitha also then planned to try to get the Team Magma leader killed. Maxie trusted him enough, so he would not expect a betrayal. The purple-haired man truly believed the world would be free if Maxie was no longer living.

At the same time, he had rallied a multitude of followers from former members of both Team Aqua AND Team Magma.

They became known as the _Resistance._

These people felt that both of their former affiliations were becoming unstable and highly dangerous, or they felt that their ideals do not match up to theirs, so in order to protect themselves, they either left or became double agents.

They were also tired of the chaos and strife that these two organizations have brought into Hoenn; all they wanted now was peace. They assisted him to accumulate information on both organizations and what certain key figures of the organizations were currently doing.

He did not know how, but everyone's mutual hate for war and chaos helped to settle aside their differences and actually led to everyone working together. Yes, some rivalry from old memberships was there, but it despite the fact all operations were running smoothly.

These people would then report to him through secret files, meetings, and telegrams almost nightly for the past four months. The paper work would always be hidden in a compartment in his desk.

It seemed surreal to him, but he had become the _face of the Resistance, their LEADER; The highly secretive double-agent who wanted everything to end. _

…If he was ever found out, death could be his only comfort.

When asked from his members of why he was doing this, he would simply answer, "I'm not just doing this for you and me_; I'm doing it for HER._"

The Resistance leader did not know how, but everyone felt mutual respect and hope for him leading them to the promised peace. He thinks it had something to do with how they think he's the only man brilliant enough to outsmart Maxie and rebel against him.

Tabitha was surprisingly open with his Resistance members and told them all about himself, Shelly and his love for her. In return his members became close allies and did their best with missions they were given.

This led to many stories and accounts of former members of Team Aqua, and Magma having forbidden lovers from opposing sides. There were more than Tabitha ever dreamed of or realized. To them, getting rid of all this chaos would hopefully reunite them once again.

* * *

..Arceus, it was starting to sound like some damn classic love story. _Although..._

…_.He could have never forgotten Shelly._

Since her reign as the new Team Aqua leader, the purple-haired man would ask certain members of the Resistance with high recon experience to now and then check up on her. And he did not like what he was hearing.

_Tabitha really felt iniquitous of what he did. _

He badly wanted to tell her why he left, and why he was doing this, but he did not want to put her in danger- especially with her being on the top of Maxie's black list.

In addition, he knew that Shelly…would have mixed feelings on leaving Team Aqua.

Sure, he loves her enough to go against everything he's ever known and believed in, that's why he created this Resistance, but if there was one topic that was very sensitive to her- it was of her feelings on Team Aqua. He understood that she considered it as her home after the period in her life where it was arduous to make a living. Not that being in a criminal organization was hard enough as it is.

…He never got to question her about her feelings on this whole matter.

He also knew that if they both leave like they planned to; it would never bring them true peace as they would be hunted down by both criminal organizations internationally for the rest of their lives.

…_Which is why after exterminating Maxie, he would then seek to disband both Team Aqua and Team Magma. _

Personally for him, he genuinely believed that Shelly, himself, and the people of Hoenn would be at peace if the two criminal organizations would no longer exist.

Once that was done, Tabitha knew that Shelly would not forgive him so easily. He was hell bent that she would be _very, very wrathful with him for leaving her so abruptly. He was sure that she would murder him herself. _

Shuddering at the thought, he was brought back his surroundings when he heard a voice call his name.

* * *

"..What do you want Matt?"

The burly former Team Aqua Admin strode right out of the shadows and right in front of the Resistance leader. A savage smirk on his face and a dangerous gleam in his eyes. Matt had long ditched the Team Aqua get up and now sported a long black cloak that covered his whole body. For reasons unknown he kept the Team Aqua bandana around his head.

Matt had graced him with his presence shortly after Archie died. He had told Tabitha that with Archie gone, there was no hope left for Team Aqua and his loyalty for the organization died along with him. He then unexpectedly joined the Resistance, saying that it would be a better world if both organizations ceased to exist. Tabitha never liked Matt, but he needed as much help as he could get in order for the chaos to end. So He chose Matt to be his second in command. It would make sense since Matt used to be one of Archie's top Admins. Besides Shelly of course. Although Tabitha never understood why Matt left Team Aqua in the first place.

Probably the former Aqua Admin was just as exhausted from all chaos as everyone else was..

"Hehehehehe...Hey Tabby-Cat, I got a gift for ya."

"..Don't call me that you idio-"

_**WHAM!**_

Tumbling down, Tabitha cradled his left cheek as he gazed up dazedly at Matt. _The stupid bastard just punched him!_ That was gonna leave a big ugly bruise...

".._THE FUCK'S YOUR PROBLEM?"_

Both men glared at each other, waiting tensely for the other to move. Matt then smiled savagely as he crouched down near Tabitha.

"Hehehe…So I just came back from recon and I happened to finish early. So I decided to stop by my sis' place to see how she was doin'." Matt's smile then dropped from his face, an angered glint in his eyes appeared in its place.

Tabitha then felt two huge fists grab at his black cloak and he grunted as he felt his whole body being pulled upwards until his feet was off the ground.

"Lemme tell ya Tabby-Cat, I didn't like what I saw…She's losin' it. Shelly's lookin' like the living dead. _And it's ALL. YOUR. FAULT._"

Grunting in pain as he felt another punch delivered into his other cheek, Tabitha strained his voice,

"..You're lucky that you're my second in command Matt. Otherwise you'd be banned from the Resistance...or worse."

".._Dammit, Tabitha, she's like a little sister to me! You promised me when I came into the Resistance that she wouldn't get hurt!"_

"…If I remember correctly, you left her too Matt. We BOTH did. Now put me down. You're stretching my cloak."

Flinching, Matt released Tabitha, dropping him none too gently down on the ground. Rubbing his face, Tabitha glared up at his second in command. Both bodies were tense and both waiting for the other to make the next move.

Matt was the first to move. He scoffed and ran a hand over his face. He looked at Tabitha with weary eyes and exhaustion as he slid unceremoniously to the floor. Blinking in confusion, the purple-haired man sat down right beside him.

After a few minutes of uneasy silence, Matt was the first to speak.

"..I feel really bad Tabby-Cat…Shelly's important to the BOTH of us. And we caused her to be like this…"

"…I know Matt…we really fucked up this time didn't we?"

"..Hehehe yeah…I don't think she'll ever forgive for this..."

"..Tabitha, she's going to be more than furious with us. She's going to do more than feed us to her Sharpedo! I understand you did this for her protection but really if anything else, for her sake, I hope your plan works. I'll be honest, I never liked you because you hold her affections, but I trust that you will make her safe and happy after all this. That is, if she accepts you again after everything. Good luck boss…and sorry for punching ya."

"..Huh, did anyone tell you that you get stupidly sentimental when you let your guard down? And thanks, Matt. I hope this works…By the way; don't call me Tabby-Cat. Just because Shelly came up with it a long time ago doesn't mean you're allowed to use it."

"Don't care Tabby-Cat. It suits you."

"…Shut up Matt."

Both men sighed and picked themselves off the floor, right when they stood up, one of the grunts ran up to them and told her commanders that the packaging that they waited for has arrived.

The Resistance leader eyes flashed with anticipation and he perked up at the information.

"Good work. Matt, report to meeting room A."

"Yes boss. Should I tell everyone else?"

"Yes…Tell them that operation Alpha has begun."

* * *

_ Hello everyone! I'm sorry! I know it's been a while!_

_For those of you who don't know, Aqua Admin Matt worked beside Shelly in the Manga and in the original games. His character is defined by being loyal to Archie, but with Archie gone he lost belief in the organization. In this story Shelly and Matt have a brother/sister relationship._

_Also, Matt and Tabitha became somewhat friends/rivals in this story because of their love for Shelly, although Matt's is platonic. _

FullMoonPhoenixShadow, thank you so much for letting me remember that I have a duty to write this story. I had been having writer's block for this story so I got caught up writing Fire Emblem: Awakening stories.

I completed summer school last week so I am free!

As usual, please leave a review and be respectful!

See you all soon!

-K.A.


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